Side Effects May Vary
by silver drip
Summary: A series of one-shot scenarios about the different effects James' bite might have had on Bella. To my fellow writers: Feel free to use these as a start/inspiration for your stories.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a series of one-shots. Feel free to use them as prompts just give me some credit and PM me so I can read them. I'll randomly be posting other scenarios.  
**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

"I'm so happy I could cry." Bella whispered to me and I grinned back at her. We were laying in a fort of sheets on our wedding bed, holding hands with our noses just barely touching.

"You're insane, but I love you for it." I kissed her and her face lit up with a blush. "You do understand that you're about to be engulfed in the worst pain there is in this world?"

"Of course I know that." Bella's voice was weak and she looked away from me. "I just want to be like you, to be your equal and most of all to have an eternity by your side." Her voice cracked. "I just love you so much."

"I know, I love you too. Are you absolutely sure about this Bella? It's going to be a living hell for you and while you're still coherent you're going to beg me to kill you, to make the burning stop. There is no way around it. The change is like that for everyone." I said pleadingly. This was her last chance to save her soul…

"Edward I know what it feels like." Her delicate fingers brushed against the bite scar that that tracker gave her in my moment of absence. "I'm doing this for us. I can't dream of my life without you, even an afterlife without you. It wouldn't be heaven without you, so I'll just have to stay on this world with you, even if it means going through the fires of hell." I kissed her again, unable to form any response that would show just how much I loved her.

"Fine, but please just one more night of humanity. Let me watch you sleep, just once more." I begged her.

"Just one more night." Bella agreed and snuggled against me, tucking her head under my chin. She fell asleep quickly, with a smile on her face. She'd thank me someday for making her take this last escape into the dream world.

I was dreading the coming of the sun, the signal of the end of Bella's humanity, the end of her soul, but I couldn't live without her. All too quickly the sun chased away the moon and she stirred in my arms.

"Edward?" She said sleepily.

"Yes, Love?"

"I'm ready."

"Don't you want to have one last breakfast, perhaps chocolate chip pancakes?" I offered halfheartedly.

"No," she leaned up and kissed me softly, "I believe and trust you Edward. Everything is going to be alright." She sounded so confident that I almost believed her.

"Alright, let me call Carlisle so he can help me, just in case." She nodded mutely and I sat up to grab my phone. She slipped out of the sheets to use the bathroom.

"How is the married life treating you?" Carlisle asked me with a laugh once he picked up his phone.

"It's wonderful." I just couldn't get over how perfect Bella is for me. "But Bella is ready for the change and I'm about as ready as I'll ever be for it."

"When did you hunt last?" He asked, his tone suddenly serious.

"Last night, less than nine hours ago."

"Alright, I'll be over there in thirty minutes. Go get a quick buck, just to be sure you're full to the brim." Carlisle said before hanging up.

"Bella, I'm going to get in a hunt to be on the safe side. Carlisle will be here in half an hour." I said loudly.

"Mkay." She mumbled as she brushed her teeth. I shook my head at the absurdity of the situation. She was about to go through hell and she was worried about her oral hygiene.

The hunt didn't distract me from my troubles like it usually did and it ended way too soon. By the time I got back Carlisle was already there and Bella was scrapping the rest of her breakfast into the trashcan.

"I'm sorry I'm going to put you through this pain." I whispered to her as I engulfed her in a hug. She nuzzled against me.

"I'm sorry you have to watch me go through it. You can't beat yourself up about this." I sighed and let her go. We walked to the bedroom hand in hand, Carlisle following behind us silently.

Bella nodded to me as she laid down and I took a deep breath before biting her in all the right places. Her blood was ecstasy, but didn't compare to my need to keep her alive. With more effort than I'd ever admit I stopped drinking and started pushing my venom into her. Her screams started almost immediately, ripping my heart from my chest. I pulled away once the last bite was sealed.

"You did perfectly, son." Carlisle said as he patted me on the shoulder. I couldn't respond. My eyes were glued on Bella's thrashing form. I tried to hold her, to comfort her, but she kept flailing, her limbs hitting me and causing her even more pain. I ended up just sitting in a chair by the bed. Carlisle sat in a chair next to me. He was reading a book, seemingly completely undisturbed by her screams, but his thoughts gave away his distress.

Two hours in she started begging for the mercy of death. My fingers twitched, feeling the need to release her from her pain. Carlisle gave me a look, sensing my intentions. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you need to leave?" He asked kindly, yet with authority. I shook my head no. "I think of her as a daughter, Edward. You made it through this and she will to, so don't even think of trying to send her to the afterlife." I sighed, he really knew me too well.

Time was just passing so slowly… It had only just reached the first twelve hour mark when one of Carlisle's thoughts caught my attention.

_Strange… it shouldn't. _

"What's wrong?" I asked, immediately panicked.

"I'm sure it's nothing." He said dismissively.

"Dad-"

"There's no need to worry. Everything is fine. The change is different for everyone, but the results of immortality are always the same." Carlisle turned a page in his book, effectively ending the conversation.

I couldn't stay still, so I resorted to shaking my leg and twiddling my thumbs as Bella went through the worst pain imaginable.

Another hour passed and Carlisle suddenly stood and grabbed Bella's hand.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my gut clenching in apprehension.

"Her scent hasn't changed at all and she's running a fever." He said in a monotone.

"Didn't Emmett have a fever when he was going through the change?"

"His temperature was already high when Rosalie brought him to me. His body temperature went down below normal human standards within two hours of the change."

"Do you think I didn't give her enough venom?" I was starting to panic and my eyes kept darting between a very composed Carlisle and a screaming Bella.

"No, she has had more than enough venom. I had much less and made it through the change."

"Then what the hell is going on!"

"I'm unsure. The venom might just need to take a little extra time to properly take effect. All we can do is wait and see. I don't think giving her anymore venom would help. Her DNA has probably already bonded to it, so any new venom would be seen as foreign and just give her a scar and slow the whole process down." I couldn't stand how calm he was. Between Bella's screams and Carlisle's vague thoughts I felt like I was going insane. Another hour ticked by.

Bella's voice was hoarse and she was long past words.

"Is she supposed to be making that noise?" I asked.

"Her breathing does seem a bit labored." He lightly probed her neck, just above where I bit her. "Her lymph nodes are a bit swollen, but I don't think that is causing it. Temperature hasn't changed, heart is beating at an accelerated rate, which is to be expected, sweating, flushed." He sniffed her. "Smells human. Hmm…" Carlisle sat down next to me again.

"Well what should we do!?" I started pacing, fear engulfing me.

"Sit down, Edward. I'm trying to think and you flitting about the room isn't helping." His voice was calm, but his thoughts were racing.

"I shouldn't have done this to her! I shouldn't have allowed her to talk me into this sin!" I kept up my chaotic walk.

"Sit down, Edward!" Carlisle shouted at me and I completely froze. In all my years he had never shouted. If he was panicking then…

I complied and sat next to him, my eyes trained on Bella.

"What should we do?" I whispered. He didn't respond immediately.

"I don't know. I've read all the texts the Volturi had on the change and none of them mentioned anything like this happening before." He sighed. "We just have to wait and see what happens." Carlisle said analytically. I stood up, knocking over my chair.

"Wait and see! Wait and see!" I shouted at him and he didn't move from his relaxed position in the chair. He remained silent as I fumed. "What kind of fucked up plan is that Carlisle?" His black eyes met mine.

"It's the only plan we have." The realization of what he said sunk in and I felt desperation and anguish settle in my heart. I sat down on the bed beside Bella, completely dejected.

"Can't- can't you call the Volturi. They might have found new information since you last visited." I was looking for any tendril of hope.

"I already called them right after your wedding and they sent me all their new findings."

"Dad we have to do something!"

"We don't even know if there is something wrong or if the change just takes longer for her. For all we know everything is proceeding perfectly and we're just panicking for no reason. We just have to wait."

* * *

Two more hours passed and Bella's twisting and turning had stopped. The sheets were wet with her sweat. Each breath sounded strangled. Her temperature was higher. Carlisle estimated that she was at 104 degrees. Her heart rate was steady and at a resting pace. She was unconscious.

The rest of the family had joined us. Alice was struggling to find anything solid in the future. She kept seeing images of Bella wheezing in the bed, nothing more.

By the second day her breathing was slow yet still labored. She hardly moved, only twisting randomly and gripping the sheets tightly.

Just as the sun was setting her eyes cracked open, just barely.

"Water, please, water." Her voice was raspy and strained. Esme ran to the kitchen and filled a glass. I helped Bella sit up and held the glass for her. She drank it quickly and immediately passed out again. Esme and Rose started weeping Carlisle made them leave. Alice was too caught up trying to see the future to notice the present.

"She's dehydrated. I'll go make an IV for her." Carlisle said. He already had the supplies from one of his kits just for Bella. The needle easy penetrated her still human skin.

Another day passed. Her breathing was becoming less strained and her temperature was going down.

At the end of the fourth day Bella looked like she was just sleeping.

Slowly her eyes opened.

"Is it over?" She asked. Her words were just a weak whisper. None of us knew what to say. I looked to Carlisle, begging him to help.

"We had some complications. The venom, it just-" He was at a loss for words and Bella looked confused. I went to her side and cradled her hand.

"I'm sorry Love, we tried, but you're still human." I said as soothingly as I could. She narrowed her eyes and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"The venom it just, it just didn't work. We don't know why." I wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. She pulled her hand away from me and covered her face, hiding the tears that started pouring out. "Give us a minute, everyone." I said and they left the room. I picked up Bella and set her in my lap. She curled up and rested her face against my chest. I could feel the tears seep through my shirt as she cried. I stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

We sat like that for two hours, her crying and me trying to comfort. She fell into a fitful sleep and I tucked her in. Carlisle was waiting for me outside in the hallway.

"Please tell me you know how to fix this." I said desperately.

"I have a theory on why it didn't work, but I don't want to say anything till I'm sure." He sighed and his thoughts didn't give away any information. "After she is recovered from… this I want to try to change her again, but using Jasper's or Alice's venom instead."

"Do you think that will help?"

"I'm praying to the Lord that it does." Carlisle looked at the closed door sadly. "You should go for a hunt. I know this has been hard on you. I'll look after her." I nodded, the weight of the situation suddenly hitting me. I felt completely exhausted.

* * *

It took a week for Bella to recover and gain back the five pounds she lost. I spent it whispering calming words to her and she spent it dejectedly looking everywhere but at me.

Alice was the next one to try and change Bella. She gave her twice as much venom as I had. It only took two days for Bella to wake back up, still human. She cried in my arms all night and into the morning. That time she only lost two pounds and her fever never went above 102 degrees.

After that Carlisle called the Volturi, but they were unsure of what to do and what was wrong with Bella.

The next night I walked in on her praying, an act I had never seen her do before. She was desperate, I was desperate. The idea of having her for all eternity had just really taken hold in the beginning of her first change. I'd accepted it, accepted the possibility of her killing someone on accident, of her hating me for letting her become a monster, all the consequences of the change… and now an eternity with her seems out of reach.

Carlisle said that Jasper was our last hope. I didn't know why and Carlisle wouldn't explain to me his reasoning. His thoughts didn't give anything away. It was the first time I ever hated his surplus of control.

Jasper had changed many humans when he was down South, but that was when he was fully sated with human blood. As such Carlisle stole a few packets of human blood from the hospital.

Bella cried when she saw his red eyes, sad that because of her he knew the taste of human blood again. Jasper told her to not worry about it, that he wanted to do this for all of us.

I was so scared when he bit into her, scared that he would lose control, that I'd lose control, or worst of all, that his venom wouldn't change her.

He struggled much less than I had to when he pulled away from Bella. I went to her side immediately, praying silently that this time it would work.

Bella didn't scream and she was semi-conscious the whole time. She had a fever of 102 degrees and was mumbling my name. Three hours in she fell into a deep slumber, hardly even moving. Two hours later her fever broke.

I wept silently beside her. Now we would never have our eternity. I'd lose her then there would be nothing left for me on this world. The rest of the family was devastated. None of us knew what to do.

"It didn't work." Bella's emotionless voice startled me out of my depressing thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Love."

* * *

Carlisle ushered us into his study. The grim look on his face didn't help the pain I felt in my heart or help slow Bella's tears.

"Please tell me you know how we can fix this, Carlisle." I begged him.

"It's James…" Carlisle seemed to be struggling for words.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked while gripping my hand tightly.

"Some of his venom and possibly some of Edward's must have been still in you. That small amount acted the same way a flu shot would. It gave your immune system just enough to learn how to fight it without getting too sick, or in this case changing. You had a fever after he bit you and you were in the hospital, but I just accounted that to the stress of the situation." Carlisle sighed and Bella held her hand over her mouth, holding back a cry of anguish. "When Edward bit you your body recognized the 'invaders' and knew how to properly fight against them, effectively stopping the change. I thought that maybe if we tried someone else's venom, someone who I hadn't sired, that your body wouldn't be used to it and your immune system wouldn't know how to fight it, but I was wrong."

"There has to be a solution, a way for me to change! What if we did a transfusion, take away all my blood and just replace it with venom wouldn't that work!?" Bella asked desperately. Carlisle shook his head no and Bella stood up, heading back to our room. I nodded at Carlisle and followed her. Halfway there she turned around to face me. I could see the fury and hopelessness plainly on her face. "Why didn't you just let me change when we were in the studio!? Why didn't you just let it happen?" Before I could respond she ran to our room and slammed the door. I tried to take a calming breath, but it didn't help. Silently I went into our room. Bella was curled up on the bed crying. I sat beside her and pulled her into my arms. She gripped onto me tightly as she sobbed.

All I could do was try and sooth her and hold back my own sobs.

* * *

**Scenario One: Inoculation**

**Feel free to take this idea fellow writers and create your own stories from it.  
**

******Whatcha think? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Second scenario is up! Remember it is just a one-shot. I'm so avoiding HW and other stories to write this btw.  
**

**Warning this one is pretty dark. **

* * *

To Bella cigarettes tasted sweeter than candy. Food had long ago stopped tasting like anything but ash to her. Eating was just a necessary step to keeping up appearances. If she had it her way she'd let the pain of hunger consume her to the edge in which the lack of fuel caused her mind to lighten then go blank.

Bella would never let herself get to that point though. She didn't feel like she was worthy of feeling nothing for more than a few seconds. To feel nothing would be a relief, but she was stuck in a cycle of hating Edward for shattering her love, despising herself for ever falling for such a man, but most of all she hated herself for being so weak, so susceptible to his abandonment.

He had just been so idyllic to her, like a prince from a story. He was her knight in shining armor. He'd saved her from being smashed between two vehicles, the fate at the hands of those men in Port Angeles, and from an eternity. There was nothing more she could have really asked of him other than to stay, but then he left and with his departure she was destroyed.

The pain was constant and the only thing that helped was physical pain that was somehow kinder than the emotional agony that every new breath conjured.

She tried to remind herself that it was all just a game as she snuffed out the last of her cigarette. Making everyone believe she was okay, that she was over that-that _man. _Or was he a boy? Bella shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.

She only had two more weeks of high school and those memories that went along with this place. Perhaps by then enough memories about him would fade that she would be able to genuinely smile as she crossed the stage during graduation.

"Bella, are you out here? Lunch is almost finished." Angela said as she walked behind the cafeteria, an apple in hand. Bella quickly put on a few spurts of perfume she kept in her backpack before going over to Angela with a fake smile in place.

"Time flies when you're having fun. Sorry I was on the phone with a friend from Arizona." They both knew she was lying, but neither of them did anything about it.

"Well you should probably eat at least something." Angela tossed the apple to Bella, who only just barely caught it after fumbling a few times.

"Thanks, you're such a good friend." Bella said before taking a bite and hearing the bell ring. With a nod they went their separate ways. Bella trained her thoughts away from the empty seat beside her and to the lesson the teacher was reviewing. The ever present pain was gnawing away at her and the vacant chair seemed to reflect and sum up her whole life. Bella snorted at her own thoughts.

"What's so funny, Bella?" Jess whispered from the seat behind her, a slight condescending tone to her voice. Bella shrugged silently. "Oh, well I thought you were laughing since you finally accepted how pathetic your life is." Bella didn't respond. For some reason the second the Cullens had left Jess and done a 180 and turned into her enemy. "I know I was laughing at how I'll have my family and Mike cheering for me when I get my diploma, while you'll just have your dad… and no boyfriend." Her whispers became more vicious. "I don't even know what he saw in you. I guess you must be great at blow jobs for him to keep you around that long, since I know he didn't stay with you because of your personality and I doubt he could stomach seeing you naked." God must have found it in his tight schedule to be a smidgen kind because before Jess could go on the bell rang. Bella shot out of her desk and to the hallway, just barely holding back tears.

She hated how weak she was when it came to _them_. Bella knew she would break down if she went to her next class and had to sit by another empty seat. Instead she started digging through her backpack as she speed-walked to the nearest bathroom. Just before she reached the door she tripped over her own foot and went hurling forward. Her forehead clipped the doorframe and she felt a blast of pain. She let out a sigh of relief as physical pain that briefly overshadowed her emotional anguish. It quickly dissipated and she was left with her usual inner turmoil and now had blood dripping into her eyes.

The scent and look of blood no longer made her feel faint. Now it was a catharsis. A Pavlovian signal that made her turbulent emotions dull. The blood meant that she had opened a wound, or created a new line of bright red on her flesh.

Bella had to pretend to be horrified by the sudden gash on her forehead as a few of her classmates gathered round her to help her regain her footing. She thanked them all with fake sincerity and turned down their offers to escort her to the nurse's.

Inside the bathroom she staunched the wound as she looked at herself in the mirror, still playing the part of normal student. If she was alone she would let it just bleed itself out until a scab had formed, and if she was feeling especially down she might even use some rubbing alcohol on it for an added sting. But others were around, and if anything had been gained from the Cullens' departure it was her flawless acting abilities.

The five minute break between classes was almost up and Bella pulled out her first-aid kit from her backpack. It was a necessity due to her clumsiness, but also because of the prize that was stashed away in the band aid box.

She felt anticipation bloom amongst her suffering and depression, anticipations for the brief amount of reprieve that was soon to come. She retreated into one of the stalls and started unpacking the kit and preparing herself in an almost ritualistic manner.

First she made sure the toilet seat was clean before sitting on it, pants in place. She grabbed one of her textbooks and set it on her lap as a makeshift table. By now her breaths were coming in short puffs of excitement. Slowly she laid out a few band aids, neosporin, two bandages that she had cut beforehand, medical tape, and a perfectly sharpened razor blade that somehow glinted in the faint light.

It was her savior, her one shining light in her time of need, the promise of a breath of air that kept her from permanently sinking under, if time ever allowed she could see herself writing a sonnet to it. She smiled at the piece of metal as she placed it on the book lovingly.

She needed to calm down, to savor the knowledge that the pain would go away soon. Bella lined the items up perfectly in order of their usage. With a deliberately slow motion she rolled up the sleeve of her left shirt. A white bandage seemed to blend in with the whiteness of the skin on her arm, until she pulled it off with a jerking motion, revealing five red lines in various states of healing.

Bella stroked the middle line and held back a gasp. It was the freshest. She had held off for three days and the scab begged to be picked and pulled off in a slow, agonizing manner. It was Monday though, a new week, which meant it was time to move to the next line on her arm. Every week she'd move in a cycle allowing the thin cuts to heal only to be restored to their bloody glory when their time came again.

The raised pink flesh was soft compared to the scab she had just been leisurely caressing.

She looked forward to slicing it open, to the physical pain, to the blood, to brief moment where her emotions and thoughts were made blank by the stinging of the razor, it was the only thing she lived for, other than Charlie.

Her fingers shook as she raised the blade to her flesh, not from fear of the pain, but from eagerness.

The kind blade easily cut through her flesh and she let out a rapturous gasp, her mouth forming an O. It hurt, it hurt so good! Tears of joy escaped her eyes as the physical pain was the only thing that her mind registered. She dug it a bit deeper. Oh the heaven of being free of the emotions if only for just a moment. Bella held back a sob and removed the razor.

The sharp scent of blood came into her awareness, only making her blissful apathy all the more pungent.

Without thinking she dabbed away the flowing blood with toilet paper then put disinfectant on the wound before wrapping it.

Reality was quickly coming back to her as she rolled her sleeve back in place over the bandage.

She felt clammy, alone, and shaken as she always did right after a fresh cut. The guilt would soon follow, but she knew how to squash it. The act of cutting was for Charlie. It was the only thing that kept her sane and willing to move from day to day, to stay playing the role of happy daughter so that he could be happy and didn't have to feel her own pain. To cut was to keep herself alive, to stay alive was to keep Charlie happy. She needed no greater logic than that to push back the guilt of slashing her very human, breakable body.

Bella didn't want to move. Classes were already ten minutes in. She leaned against the dirty back of the toilet, not caring. The pain of the cut was quickly fading and the agony of _their _absence was soon to set in again. She still hadn't cleaned up her kit and briefly considered doing another cut before denying herself that escape. One cut a day at most. Rules had to be stuck to in order to keep up her guise of the happy daughter or dedicated student. All for Charlie, she had to remind herself.

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling, Jess' words suddenly coming back to her. That girl always knew how to hurt people. Bella already knew she had no one other than Charlie. As much as she loved her mother Bella knew that she was incapable of dealing with such a serious matter of crushing, ever present despair. Because of _them _she had no one. Those people she could have been friends with assumed (rightly) that she was the cause of the Cullens' departure, that she had somehow scared them off. The rumors had been ruthless the first week after the news spread. Jess had taken it upon herself to breathe new life into any rumor that died down. The only person to still talk to her in more than just passing or out of common decency was Angela. She was the only one un-phased by all the rumors.

Bella didn't feel like she could connect with her though. How does someone live with the knowledge of a second world, with creatures that were their better, that could and would easily kill a human for no good reason? What made it worse was that Bella no longer knew how to bond with humans. They just needed so much reassurance and couldn't read between the lines like vampires could. It was like she was talking on a completely different plane than everyone else. Her life had been so centered on the vampire world and culture that the world she was born into seemed foreign and slow.

She could still hear Jess' obnoxious and hateful whispers. Fresh tears sprang to life, but slowed when she reminded herself that the pain anger Jess caused was nothing compared to her usual torment. Bella laughed hollowly. She was trying to justify away her emotions by saying that they were nothing since much worse emotions were normally present. Bella wanted to scream and destroy the bathroom at that thought. Instead she just wiped away the tears and tried to put on her mask of a good student.

It was almost in place when she spotted a crude drawing on the bathroom stall. There in harsh black marker was a stick figure of a woman bent over, sandwiched between two male stick figures with oversized erections skewering her from both ends. Rage built up as she read the names, Carlisle, Bella, and Edward.

She bit down on her lip to stop from shouting so hard that she broke the skin. Even the scent of blood wasn't calming her down like it usually would. She stood up, book, razor, and kit falling onto the dirty floor. With more force then she knew she had Bella threw a punch at the taunting figures. The breaking of at least two fingers calmed her down slightly, until she saw the crescent shaped reminder James left her. That fucking gash of raised white skin that was always a few degrees cooler than the rest of her. It taunted her.

Her fury and suppressed misery flew forward. Fucking vampires. They had ruined her. Bella blindly grabbed the razor blade off the tiled floor and let it rake against the bite make, blood and fluid came out with each swipe. She felt like she was cutting _them_, showing all the pain she was in constantly, liking somehow getting rid of the scar would get rid of the pain.

She bit back another scream as she hit bone and blood dripped onto the floor. The razor fell and she started laughing and crying all at the same time.

A new and scary pain had entered her awareness, one she hadn't felt in a long time. Terror seeped into every one of her pores and she bent over cradling her damaged hand, head resting against the image she had just punched.

Insanity and fire! Her mind was breaking and the fire she thought she'd never feel again had sparked back to life on her hand. She couldn't believe it. This pain, this fire, this all consuming blaze had somehow been unlocked once more. Her mind rebelled against the possible consequences of this inferno. She didn't fear the pain, no she welcomed that, it was the eternity it promised that left her petrified.

Bella slammed her head against the stall door, trying to regain her senses, to realize it was just an illusion of her own fucked up mind, but it wasn't. She was in the middle of the school. Oh, god, Charlie! She couldn't let him see her screaming as the fires of hell pushed through her veins and caused irreparable damage.

Panic pulsated through her with each heart beat that moved the long contained venom forward. The panic at the thought of Charlie seeing her like this made her move, made her unlock the stall door, made her keep from screaming as she saw her own gory image in the mirror. Blood covered her face, her nose was at an angle, red stained her shirt, and her hand looked like a dog mauled it.

She bit back an insane laugh at her image before looking away from it. Each step seemed to beckon the fire to move further into her body. There would be no sucking of the poison this time. The halls were blessedly empty, class still in session.

Bella couldn't stand straight from the immense physical pain that seemed to couple with her emotional agony at the prospect of an eternity alone with only her memories.

"Charlie." She whispered to herself as a reminder to keep moving and not curl into the screaming ball of torture she wished to. Once she reached the parking lot she wanted to shoot herself for forgetting her keys back in the bathroom. Her vision was already fogging at the edges as the pain became too much. She was used to that, the loosing of her consciousness to the pain. She usually embraced it, but she couldn't allow herself to do so now.

Bella called upon every memory of the parking lot she held looking for… Yes! Jess' little VW, she always left her keys in it. She let out a little gasp of pained relief when she spotted the yellow vehicle. She thanked god that it wasn't a stick, considering the state of her hand. A masochistic and malevolent part of her mind chuckled at the blood she was staining the chairs with as she pulled out onto the road.

Her thoughts hadn't taken her past this point, both due to the overwhelming burning and lack of sanity. The car rolled forward and Bella tried to look at her surroundings.

"C-Charlie."

She just had to get as far away from him as possible, as far away from his heartbreaking looking as he saw his only daughter die in the worse pain imaginable.

Bella tried to be logical as she drove, paying attention to the curves of the road. That bitch Jess was almost running on empty. Bella cursed silently before a second plan came to mind. Fishing, fishing meant boats, boats meant- her mind couldn't comprehend. The burn had reached her heart and was suddenly moving at a sprinting pace. She screamed.

La Push.

The grey of everything seemed to blend together and for once she was not grateful for the physical pain pushing away the emotional. At least with the emotional she knew how to function.

The blaze snaked its way up her neck and she could feel it in the shallow veins of forehead and cheeks, it was a mask of white hot metal being molded directly to her, a mask to replace all the other ones she was leaving behind.

Charlie… he was why she had to keep moving through this inferno. His name became a prayer, her motivation, a flagship to keep her moving.

A loud growling of an engine gave her a slight satisfaction. Even if she couldn't see or reason what she was doing Bella knew she was in a boat.

With the last of her control she guided the small boat past the initial waves that hit against the beach and onto calmer water with only one word playing through her mind, Charlie.

* * *

**Scenario Two: Broken Blister**

**What do you think?**


End file.
